Near to you
by Mr Palmer
Summary: A story based on the fantasized love relationship of Michael/Stella. Takes place after Season 3's first ep. Starting as just love based fics, but will change in later chapters. I love these guys as a couple, and I hope you will too!
1. Chapter 1

Stella rounded the corner of her apartment door, fumbling for the keys. She wasn't drunk, just tired. She had come from a late shift, some kid accidently set fire to his house's kitchen whilst trying to cook for his Mum's birthday.

She finally found the key that fitted the lock, and opened the door.

_To find Michael standing in her entrance way, with an Apron and spatula in his hand. _

He smirked, and laughed a little. And Stella covered her mouth in surprise and laughter. "Surprise, Stel! "

She went into her apartment to find Lawson, Dom, Shannon, Josh, Kerry and Leon in her kitchen/dining room, with party hats on and balloons and banners.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY STELLA!" They yelled in chorus.

She laughed and felt some happy tears roll down her cheek. "You guys are too much."

Everyone clapped and sang "For she's a jolly good fellow", completely out of tune, of course, but adorable all the same.

Michael (still wearing Apron and Spatula in hand) had prepared dinner, which consisted of: A tomato soup for entrée, a Rustic Italian Pizza for the main and profiteroles for dessert. Kerry had bought her a bottle of wine, Josh bought her a book titled "Living in hell: A woman's life with the man of her "dreams" "which she laughed at and thanked him. Dom and Lawson bought her some fairy lights for her balcony, because she had been complaining about their not being enough light out there. They had even set them out. Shannon bought her a bottle of Red Jean perfume, which smelt delectable. And Michael bought her a red silk dress, which she had eyed once and tried on in a store on their lunch break. She pulled it out of the bag and gasped, and smiled at him thankfully. "I remembered how much you loved it, and to be perfectly honest, it is made for you. So I asked the lady what size you tried on and bought it."

She kissed him on the cheek affectionately, and blushed after she figured out what she had just done. The rest of them helped clean up most of the mess, but Michael told them all to go out and have some fun somewhere else. They cleared out pretty easily.

This just left Michael and Stella cleaning dishes in the kitchen.

They were making small talk, Stella still in her red dress, Michael still with his Apron on.

The CD changes to a love CD. Track 1: Near to you by A Fine Frenzy.

Stella sighs. "I just love this song."

Michael puts down the dish, smiles, and pulls her by the hand into the middle of her living room. He bows, and she laughs and curtseys. She puts his hands on the small of her back, his hands feeling the smoothness of the silk against his hands. She puts her own arms around his neck, and rests her head on his shoulder, rising on her toes. They moved calmly to the music, cuddling to each other's warmth and enjoying each other's company. Stella moved higher, closer to his face, and rest her nose on his cheek, breathing in his smell. _Soap and Vanilla. _

He whispered the words in her ears. She smiled.

"You know this song? "

He smirked, and nodded gently. "You showed it to me, remember? After Richard." His smile dropped.

She remembered this now. "Ah yes, I remember. A sad time for me, but you helped me pull through."

Michael looked down at her, and stopped dancing. "You know, that will never happen to you again Stella. Richard was a sick and silly man for doing that. I will promise you, it won't happen to you ever again."

"And how can you be so sure, Mr Sandrelli?" She teased.

He let his head fall back and laughed silently. "I have no idea, actually."

The song changed: Have you ever really loved a woman by Bryan Adams.

They laughed, and kept on dancing. He spun her around, and lifted her up so her legs were gripped around his waist. He yelled at her to let her arms go. She did, and he spun her around. They both, after a while started getting dizzy. They fell onto the edge of the bed, with Stella's legs still tangled around his waist. They laughed and rolled back onto the bed, lying next to each other. They both sighed, and laughed silently.

Michael propped his head up on his arm and looked at her. Finally, he said " I know what this guy is talking about exactly."

Stella laughed hard, and said in a mock voice. "Have you ever really loved a woman Michael?"

"Yeah." He looked into her eyes, and she understood.

She smiled, and without asking or hesitation, kissed him.

And their hearts burst open.

The only way Stella could explain the feeling was when you saw fireworks, and you felt so happy. You can feel the colours touching your face in the night's chill, and you feel your warm breath leave your lips with every gasp. Or when you pat your childhood pet when you snuck it into your bed, and it squirms in your bed and feels so warm. _True love must feel like this. _

Stella pulled off his shirt, and he was pulling off her dress. She had to get up to get the last bit off, and the candle- light hit her porcelain skin. Michael gazed at her beauty, her wondrous curves and her beautiful breasts. She leaned down on the bed, locked lips with him again and ended up with him on top. He kissed her everywhere possible, and she was arching her back into his pelvis. He knew what was coming next.

"Stella, wait. Are you sure? I mean- I am so sure, but I don't want you to rush anything and and an-"

She pulled him back into a kiss, this time more fiery and rough. He slowed it down, smiled at her, kissed her stomach and pushed himself into her. She pulled him back to her, kissing him. When she smiled, he knew she was ready.

He gently at first, pushed himself in further. He put his fingers in one hand through her hand, and the other one through her hair. She gripped his hair at the back of his neck, and deepened it. He slowly thrust backwards and forwards into her, and she started crying. He whispered to her, telling her he could stop if she wanted to. She shook her head against his back, so he continued. He sped up relatively soon, and they were both breaking sweat. She was gripping his neck tighter, and he could feel her muscles tighten. She was almost ready.

She was moaning loudly, and he could feel her tears roll down his back. He felt himself coming. And then it was over. They were both done.

He pulled out, and stayed on top of her though. He looked at her, trying to help her wipe her face.

"Stel, what's wrong? Did I do something that hurt?"

She quickly stopped him. "No, no that was fine. It's just-"She paused for a gasp "It had never meant anything before. I have never, well, loved the person before. It meant more this time. That's…all."

All he could do was try to hold back his tears as best he could, and keep her warm.


	2. Chapter 2

He awoke to the sound of a tap running.

He pulled on some pants, and made his way to the bathroom.

He found her in the bath, the tap still running, her hair wet and her body surrounded by bubbles. She had one leg raised, and was shaving it. She smiled, and he walked to the side of the bathtub. He kissed her forehead and her lips, and she kissed him back. He leaned back. And Stella threw some bubbles at him. They landed right in his face. He spat some of the bubbles out, and wiped his face clean. He had an adorably fake-angry face, and went to open the bathroom cupboard. He found a box of bath salts and poured the whole thing into the bath. She screamed as he could hear the fizzing and see her being tickled. She jumped out of the bath and onto him, completely naked and completely soaked. He laughed and put her on the bench of the sink. He grabbed a hair-tie from her draw and started to braid her hair. She laughed for a while. When he was done, he added a pink bow and looked back to admire his handiwork. She was laughing still. He frowned.

"Now what is so funny?" She was still laughing.

"Ha- Well, you see. I have never seen a man braid hair. Especially a straight man." And with that, she burst into laughter again.

He smirked. "Well, I grew up in a family of 3 younger sisters, and they couldn't braid their own hair. I have been a very experienced hair braider since I was roughly 9 years old. I used to charge 50 c for the girls in my primary school to have their hair braided. I made 10 dollars one lunch time, and that's nothing to laugh about." He thought about it for a minute, and laughed.

They both laughed, and he picked Stella up and put her back in the bath. He took off his pants, and got in next to her. He scrubbed her back down, and gave her a massage. She told him what she had planned for tonight, and she washed his hair. He tickled her in the bath and they just sat and held each other for what seemed an hour. They had to fill the bath with more hot water and eventually their skin began to wrinkle up. This made them laugh again, and they helped dry each other off.

Stella changed whilst Michael made breakfast. Then they drove to Michael's place and he changed into a set of new clothes, put his clothes from last night in the wash, grabbed a set of clothes for tomorrow and checked his messages on his land line. They drove in separate cars to the Police station, so as not to make anyone suspicious. They shared a quick kiss outside, before squeezing each other and they walked in, not looking at each other like they wanted to for the rest of the day.

…

Stella couldn't stand it anymore. She walked over to Leon and Michael, and looked Michael in the eyes. "Guys, I am just going for a shower. If anyone wants me, that's where I will be. Okay?"

Leon responded with an Okay, but Michael just watched her go, picking up the message. He told Leon he was going out for a lunch break, and would be back in 30 minutes or so.

He walked into the change rooms to find Stella pacing backwards and forwards. When she saw him, she ran to him and passionately kissed him. He spun her around, and began unbuttoning her shirt. She took off his shirt in an easy 5 seconds, barely undoing any of the buttons. He was pushing off his pants, and she was naked bar her underwear. He unclipped her bra, and then she realized she would need a cover. She ran to turn on the shower, and pulled him into the cubicle. There was plenty of room, and they didn't get very wet at all.

He pulled off her briefs, and put he lifted her up so her back was against the wall. He put his thumb on her clit, softly stroking and prodding it. She moaned softly, biting her bottom lip and kissing him. She deepened the kiss, and he realized she was ready for more. He slid one finger into her, and her muscles tightened around it. He pushed another, and soon another finger into her. He slowly pushed in and out, and she gripped his back more. She was almost about to scream, so she bit into his shoulder lightly. He chucked her his shirt to put in her mouth, and he took his fingers out, and she slid down the wall. He took off his underwear, and she pushed her knees out a little. But he needed to spread her little more, so he took both of his hands and pushed her knees apart. Then he slid into her, feeling her fall on top of him. She changed the position of her hips, so he went in as deep as he could. He started off with little movements very slowly, but she whispered to him for more. He was already getting close. He started faster and deeper, and felt her back hit the wall as he pushed back in every time. She was smiling and moaning, breathing quickly. "I'm so close, ah ah-" She screamed and fell over the edge, and he let himself go. She collapsed on top of him, and they just sat there in the wet shower, lying next to each other, gasping and gazing. "I love you Stella. Always remember that. "He took a breath. "You need to always remember that."

She looked into his eyes. "Io ti amore sempre più della vita stessa*." And pulled her closer, putting his fingers through hers, and resting them on her stomach.

…

*This means "I will love you more than life itself" in Italian.


End file.
